The blossoming growth of youth soccer in the United States is creating demand for more and more adult volunteers. Oak Ridge is no exception—as the local American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO) Region is always looking for more volunteers to help grow its youth soccer programs.

AYSO is an all-volunteer organization, with parents, kids, and friends of AYSO working together as coaches, players, referees, and administrators. It’s not unusual to find two, three, or more children in the same family playing AYSO soccer—while Dad serves as a referee and Mom as coach. It can be a family experience like no other that gets everyone outside together.

But here in Oak Ridge, AYSO’s volunteers go well beyond family members. Having seen their children grow up successfully participating in youth sports, many parents whose kids have gone on to college or beyond are still volunteering to help the next generation of youth. [Read more…]